


Nightmares

by Alyrianna



Series: The Lion and His Bumbling Bookworm [3]
Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 00:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7291882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alyrianna/pseuds/Alyrianna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khadgar has a nightmare, Lothar is there to make it better. Silly fluff and cuddles. Anduin is a softie.<br/>UPDATE: Chapter 2- Lothar is the one in need this time.<br/>Part Two of 'The Lion and His Bumbling Bookworm'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Khadgar's Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> So here is my very first attempt at a fanfiction, because this damn ship is too good for me to ignore. Rating because mentions of sex.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO there is this beautiful person on tumblr (dadgar-khadgar) who drew me fanart for this!
> 
> GO [CHECK IT OUT ON MY TUMBLR!](http://never-justforever.tumblr.com/post/146591291332/dadgar-khadgar-gift-art-for-never-justforever)

A quietly mumbled "No.. no.. no…" was all Lothar heard as he blearily opened his eyes into the semi-darkness of his room. It had to be close to sunrise as he could see the gentle rose color of the sky outside his window beginning to drive back the darkness of the night. He remembered falling into a blissful slumber, maybe a few hours before, after a night of experimenting in bed with his little mage. Looking over at Khadgar curled up on his chest, he immediately grew worried. The normally peaceful boy's- _no man's-_ face was pinched in lines of worry and pain. His hands were scrunched tight in the blanket lightly covering their naked bodies, mumbling a litany of 'no' under his breath in his sleep. 

Lothar wasn't stupid, and he knew the mage had his share of nightmares at the horrors they had witnessed in recent times, same as him, but normally sharing a bed did wonders for both of them in the sleep department. Deciding quickly, he reached out with his free hand, and began to shake the little mages' shoulder- gently at first, and then harsher as the movement elicited no immediate reaction.

"Khadgar? Wake up." The younger man just seemed more distressed at the shaking of his shoulder, and began to quiver from head to toe, a single tear flowing quickly out of his left eye and down onto Lothar's shoulder as a choked sob tore out of his throat. 

"Hey spell-chucker! _Wake up!_ " Lother said louder, and more urgently, this time as he gave one last hard shake of his shoulder, and the young man opened his tear-filled eyes. Another sob wrenched its way out of his throat, before burying his face in Lothars' shoulder, his whole body quaking with the force of his tears.

He said nothing at first, just holding him close, one hand wrapped behind his head, rubbing his soft raven locks. Pressing soft kisses to his temple and murmuring soft words of comfort, he waited for the young mage's sobs to quiet down. When they did, Khadgar lifted his head, a soft hiccup sliding through his lips, and began to profusely apologize. "Oh Anduin, I am so, _so_ sorry. I didn't mean to wake you! It was just a nightmare. It was silly. I should be stronger than this. I'm sorry..."

Hating to see the younger man in such a state of pain, Lothar cut him off abruptly- "Shhhhh- it's okay. It normal to have nightmares after some of the things we have seen. You aren't made of stone little mage, and you need to let it out, or those feelings are going to seriously mess you up, take it from me. You have nothing to apologize for." Cupping the side of Khadgar's head, he used his thumb to wipe the tear tracks from the younger man's cheeks. 

"Now what was this little nightmare about?" 

Shaking his head a little, Khadgar smiled a wry smile and began to try and wipe the tears from his eyes. "I'm sure the 'darkest place' in my mind isn't as bad as yours. It was silly, really. We should go back to sleep. You have that strategy planning meeting later today and if you don't sleep now you'll be useless and Taria will never let me hear the end of it." 

But Lothar wasn't going to let it go that easy. "Just tell me, spell-chucker. If it's not that bad, it won't hurt my tender sensibilities then will it?" 

He knew that little taunt would work, and sure enough, with ears quickly turning pink, Khadgar began to tell him, his fingers picking at a loose thread on the hem of the blanket. He wouldn’t meet the older man’s gaze. "It was- well-" A deep sigh followed. "It was when we were ambushed in the meeting with the orcs. Only this time, you were stuck behind the wall of lightning too. I abandoned the king to try to save you, but I was too late, and you both fell." 

Lothar felt the words like a soft blow to the stomach. "You had feeling for me even then? Enough to leave the king for?" 

"Even then. You grew on me quickly, regardless of you teasing, or maybe, because of it." The wry smile that appeared on his face at those words quickly disappeared, and was replaced with a look of serious worry. "And now, the thought of losing you, with everything happening around us, terrifies me. Maybe this is why the Kirin Tor forbids personal relationships- they make you forget your duties and responsibilities to everything in light of that one person." 

Quickly bringing a finger to his lips to quiet him, Lothar smiled sadly. "Yes, but what did that do to Medivh? It only brought him ruin with loneliness. We both know we have loyalties and duties outside what transpires between us, and we will do what we can with what we have, but I know I am selfish and I couldn’t give you up now if I had to. I won’t lie to you- our lives could be cut short at any moment, just like in your dream, and we deserve some happiness, Khadgar.” 

The young man seemed to contemplate this for a moment or two, then smiled brightly, and it was like the sun had come up early then for Lothar, with the way it made him feel as if he would burst with light. He was always weak for those smiles. After a moment, one side of those plump limps quirked up into a slight smirk. 

“You know it’s nice to see this sensitive side of you. Is it because it’s night-time and I was crying or was it all the sex last night that put you in such a sweet mood? Or are you always like this and your gruff teasing is just your way of hiding from everyone that you’re a big softie on the inside?” 

This elicited a small laugh from Lothar when he realized the young man was teasing him back. “Oh shut up and go back to sleep, spell-chucker. Or I will tell Taria that the reason I am not focused on the meeting later is because you kept me up all night with loud, crazy sex.” 

Khadgar chuckled, spirits obviously lifted, and nuzzled his face into Lothar’s shoulder once more with a shifting of blankets, and quickly fell into his normal, peaceful, and soft snores. Pressing a soft kiss to Khadgar’s hair, temple, and what of his forehead he could reach as he ran his fingers through his short hair again, Lothar sighed and settled back for a little more sleep. It was then he noticed the sun was begining to fully crest over the horizon through his window. Sighing, he smiled down at his little mage, still stroking his hair. He loved the little bugger something fierce but- 

He was so screwed for that meeting. 


	2. Lothar's Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lothar is the one in need this time.

Khadgar was getting worried. The sun was already set and Lothgar hadn’t returned from his patrol yet. It was supposed to be a quiet, routine patrol through Elwynn forest to ensure the uneasy peace that had taken place after the main orc attacks. Lothgar had said when he left before dawn this morning that he should be home at dinner, but that time had come and gone, and Khadgar realized that he hadn’t absorbed a word out of the book he had been trying to read for the past few hours.

He really shouldn’t be worried like this, or obsessing over where he was for that matter, but with everything happening lately, the young mage’s anxiety had cranked up to a ten over his commander. Not that Lothar couldn’t handle himself in any situation- and he was doing a quick, routine sweep in the calmest part of Stormwind’s lands to boot, but something felt wrong. 

Sighing, he placed down the tome he had been trying to read, kicking up a small ‘poof’ of dust from its old pages and causing him to sneeze. It seemed he was going to be sleeping alone tonight- either that or he would go off looking for him once he became worried enough. Rising from his position on the floor and wincing as he felt several places in his back pop from sitting on the hard ground for so long, he let out a long sigh. A loud clanging from the hallway outside his room followed by a litany of curses startled the young mage, and had him rushing to his door to see what had caused the commotion.

To his surprise it was none other than Lothar, tangled up in a suit of armor he must have collided with, cursing and attempting to stand. Khadgar immediately frowned- the commander was never this clumsy…. Unless…  
“Have you been drinking again Anduin? Really? We were going to meet up for dinner after your patrol and instead I come to find you’ve been visiting your old haunts again?” He huffed out, arms crossing over his chest to try and hide his hurt, jealousy, and relief at seeing him unharmed.

Lothar looked up from his position on the floor, a look of surprise quickly fleeting across his features, followed by a look of annoyance.

“What are you, my wife now? Complaining about me coming home late drinking? How domestic.” He snorted, and began to slowly totter to his feet.

“What- I- No- I wouldn’t-“ The young man stuttered, all his confidence from his original statement wiped away with Lothars’ uncharacteristic attitude towards him. “Are you alright? You’re not usually this…”  
For once in his life, Khadgar’s words failed him. Gruff? Rude? Nasty? Since they had established their tentative relationship, Lothar had been much softer and kinder to the mage, though the teasing hadn’t stopped, of course.

“What’s wrong, spell-chucker? Cat got you tongue? Just go back to whatever book you were reading before I interrupted your silence, and leave me be.” He snarled, turning towards his room, which was, unfortunately, for Lothar, right next to Khadgar’s. Taria had set it up that way, seeing the way the two men looked at each other long before they realized it and deciding to play matchmaker for her little brother. 

Now Lothar was cursing her under his breath as, after a moment of his walking, Khadgar took a few purposeful strides and quickly caught up to him as he tried to slip through the door. That damned mage, having too much experience with him when he is drunk, knew he would be too weak to hold him back when he wrenched the door from his fingers and walked into the room behind him, closing the door with a forceful ‘crack’.

“By all the gods, Lothar what has gotten into you? I’ve been worried sick about you for hours and was getting ready to come find what had happened to you when I heard your bumbling in the hall.” He quickly crossed the space between them that Lothar was trying to widen and grabbed the older man by the shoulders, looking up into his face and eyes, searching.

“Have you been _crying?_ By the light Lothar! What happened?” His brown eyes roamed over the older man’s tear-stained face, Lothar’s blue eyes that normally so bright were dim, red, puffy and tired. He could smell the rather repugnant stench of far too many rounds of ale on his breath, and his whole body was uncharacteristically limp and tired in his hands. His looked softening, he tried to reach one hand up to cup the side of the older man’s face, but his hand was swatted away with surprising force.

“I am _not crying._ I am fine- as I always am. Now leave before I get the guards to come and put you in a cell again. You don’t want to be around me right now, kid.” Lothar’s face was full of bitterness and pain as he backed into the side of his bed and sat, rather unceremoniously, on the floor.

He immediately regretted his words when he looked up to see Khadgar’s soft and kind face grimace in pain from his words, though was utterly confused by the look of understanding that crossed his features next.  


“Why are you trying to push me away Anduin? You know how I care for you, and what you mean to me. What have I done to deserve this? What happened on patrol today to make you act so harshly towards me? Do you already forget the words you spoke to me the other night, when I was in pain, about Medivh and loneliness? I know you aren’t a mage, but loneliness leaves deep scars on everyone. Don’t push me away, please.”

The young man’s pure, open, and pleading expression, the mention of Medivh and the gentle way Khadgar’s hand rested on his shoulder as he knelt next to him were too much for his already weak emotional state. The sobs that began to wrack his frame were strong, violent, and loud. Khadgar, almost at a loss seeing his normally strong lover reduced to such tears, remembered the way Lothar had comforted him a few nights before. 

He lowered himself to the ground next to him and gathered the older man’s head and torso into his lap, holding him close and running his fingers gently through the long, brown locks. He placed soft kissed on the top of his head and whispered soft, soothing words to him until the tears began to fade and the hard sobs turned into soft breathing.

“Please Anduin, tell me. You know I will always be here for you. You know it can help ease the pain to talk about it.”

Lothar opened his mouth as if to speak, but nothing more than a croaking noise escaped his lips, he cleared his throat a few times, and then began to speak in a hushed tone that had Khadgar leaning in even closer to hear him.  


“It was supposed to be a routine scout of the forest. It’s been quiet out there for a few weeks. There was no way we could have known…” He choked up again, his features scrunching up in pain, before he composed himself enough to continue on.

“It seems a section of the forest had been ignored and we came across a small encampment. We slaughtered the orcs that were there, but they had taken prisoners. Most of them were already gone or in good enough condition to bring back to Goldshire for healing, but there was this… one… boy…” A soft sob tore its way through his chest again, and it took a few minutes before he could speak again.

“He wasn’t much younger than Callan. Those monsters had tortured him for information about the surrounding area and the castle for days. He was…. In bad shape.” Lothar steeled his jaw, and it was plain to see he was willing himself to continue.  


“We couldn’t save him even if we had tried. His wounds were so deep and festered that even if we had a skilled healer or priest with us, he wouldn’t have made it- he was too far gone already. They had killed his father and raped and brutalized his mother before they captured him. It was hard, but I at least did what I could to ease his pain until he passed.”

Khadgar’s face was one of sorrow, when he looked up to see him from his place on the young man’s lap.  
“I went drinking when our patrol returned to Goldshire and we found his remaining family to lay his boy to rest. You must think me so weak- crying over a boy I had never met until his final moments when I couldn’t even properly grieve for my son.” Lothar looked ashamed at himself, and turned his face away and into the soft fabric of Khadgar’s trousers to wipe his tears.

After a moment of silence, Khadgar finally spoke.  
“Is that what you think? That I would find you weak? Is that why you pushed me away? Oh Anduin.”

Khadgar gently gripped the older man’s chin under his unkempt beard and turned his head until he was staring into those piercing blue eyes he loved to much.  
Gently stroking the damp hair away from his face, Khadgar spoke softy and determinedly- “You lost _your son_ not even a _few months ago,_ Anduin. You have lost your king and one of your best friends in the same span of time, and before all this you lost a young wife. It is understandable you would feel so torn apart from seeing someone so young in such a state. You are more than allowed to feel those wounds when presented with these situations. You are only human, and no one will ever blame you for that.”

“I could never, and will never, think you weak for feeling pain at the death of an innocent, and for feeling the pain of losing your son through another. We both have so many people under our care we are responsible for protecting. We cannot save them all, but we can mourn their passing and ease it if possible. You have taught me that.”  
He pulled the other man into a tight hug, which was definitely reciprocated, rubbing his shoulders in a comforting way.

“Never feel ashamed to come to me if things are too much Anduin. Just like you have done for me, I want to help ease your pain and fear. Don’t push me away- I will never judge you. Things won’t always be perfect, but we will make it work. Whatever happens.”

Lothar pulled back then, if only to look the other mage in the eyes.

“Whatever happens.”

His expression was clear and earnest, and he seemed less burdened after finally talking about what had been tormenting him all day. Khadgar was happy just to see him in less pain.  
“Good. Now if you’re up for it, you are getting cleaned up, we are getting food and going to bed. My ass hurts from sitting on a floor all day worrying about you.” Khadgar groaned, standing up himself and offered the other man a hand up.

With a renewed twinkle in his eye, Lothar took the offered hand and surged to his feet, grabbing the mage around the waist and kissing him profusely.

“I know something else that can make your ass sore.” Khadgar rolled his eyes at the sad attempt to get him into bed, and wrinkled his nose and the full stench of drunk, unwashed soldier hit him.

“Not before you get a bath! **_You stink_**!”


End file.
